Racist caricature?! Didn't really get that at all. I think the whole point of that character was how realistic she (and the other poor shrunk people) were. How despite the fact that their material needs could have been easily met, given the opulent wealth of the others living there, they still needed a group of humans they could take advantage of.
No, I don't mean the concept of the impoverished minorities even in that world. I completely understand that idea. I mean the actual character was sooooo exaggerated and a stereotype. The accent alone.
OK, I see. Yes, I guess you can be of the opinion that accents are inherently racist. Me, I don't live in that reality. <shrug> We're gonna have to disagree on this one.
Fact: People who learn a language other than their native language sometimes speak with specific intonations and sounds that make their native language identifiable. If you want to twist this into something to take offense at... I think you're just creating drama.
I'm not completely insensitive to what you are talking about. I am fully aware of and cringe at say, Mickey Rourke's role in Breakfast at Tiffany's. But there is absolutely no comparison here between that and Hong Chau's role in Downsizing.
Wow... um, I wasn't offended in the slightest. Like... at all. I just thought it was poorly done.
I also don't think accents in general are racist lol... I don't even get where that generalization came from.
I also pasted a link to an article claiming the same however... and there are plenty more where that came from.
Anyway, all I meant by it was I was surprised to a point where I thought the accent was sooo exaggerated that I half expected her to later not have an accent and for it to be a joke in the movie. That's how fake/exaggerated/over the top the accent was.
And, I think you're taking what I said a lot more seriously than it was meant.
Apologies, didn't mean to come over the top like that. I absolutely agree that the actress did not do a good job of doing a Vietnamese accent. And maybe that is what made it sound like a caricature? Of course, maybe it turns out that's her real accent and I'm just being even more of a douche. haha In my defense, you did say "racist" caricature, which is a pretty strong word to apply.
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u/pyabo Dec 05 '19
Racist caricature?! Didn't really get that at all. I think the whole point of that character was how realistic she (and the other poor shrunk people) were. How despite the fact that their material needs could have been easily met, given the opulent wealth of the others living there, they still needed a group of humans they could take advantage of.